Tag Archives: Solar Dynamics Observatory

Sun produces four X-class flares in two days

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

Above: note the four separate events in the last two days – from the WUWT Solar Page (From NASA’s Spaceweather.com) When the week began, the sun hadn’t unleashed an X-flare all year long. In only two days, sunspot AR1748 has … Continue reading →

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Three years of the Sun in three minutes

Posted on April 24, 2013 by

Spectacular three year time lapse video from the Solar Dynamics Observatory In the three years since it first provided images of the sun in the spring of 2010, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has had virtually unbroken coverage of the … Continue reading →

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Our current solar cycle 24 – still in a slump – solar max reached?

Posted on December 10, 2012 by

Have we hit solar max? NOAA’s SWPC recently updated their solar metrics graphs, and it seems to me like we may have topped out for solar cycle 24. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence of resurgence in any of … Continue reading →

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Solar cycle 24 continues weakly, perhaps weakest of the space-age

Posted on November 6, 2012 by

NOAA SWPC has updated their plot page of solar metrics, and the slump continues. At spaceweather.com Dr. Tony Phillips writes: SO THIS IS SOLAR MAXIMUM? Forecasters have long expected the Solar Max of 2013 to be the weakest of the … Continue reading →

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The sun – still slumping

Posted on September 3, 2012 by

The latest solar cycle update graphs have been released by the NOAA SWPC today, and the anemic cycle 24 continues: The current count isn’t keeping up with the prediction line in red. Not only is the sunspot count low, so … Continue reading →

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Solar corona revealed in super-high-definition

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

From the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Today, astronomers are releasing the highest-resolution images ever taken of the Sun’s corona, or million-degree outer atmosphere, in an extreme-ultraviolet wavelength of light. The 16-megapixel images were captured by NASA’s High Resolution Coronal Imager, … Continue reading →

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Still waiting for the CME from the X Class flare

Posted on July 14, 2012 by

Spaceweather.com writes: (link mine) The CME launched toward Earth by the July 12th X-flare has not yet arrived. However, we are still within the forecast window set by analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab. The cloud should hit at … Continue reading →

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X-Class solar flare blasts CME directly at Earth

Posted on July 12, 2012 by

Large sunspot Group AR1520, seen below just right of center, was pointed directly at Earth when the flare occurred. The GOES Xray Flux spike hit X 1.4, just barely an X-class: 

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Time lapse video of Venus transit seen from SDO

Posted on June 6, 2012 by

Thanks to reader Mike McMillan for pointing this awesome HiDef video out. It is the best I’ve seen.

Posted in Astronomy | Tagged , , , | 49 Comments

Transit of Venus today may reveal the “Mysterious Arc of Venus”

Posted on June 5, 2012 by

From Dr. Tony Phillips Science at NASA When Venus transits the sun on June 5th and 6th, an armada of spacecraft and ground-based telescopes will be on the lookout for something elusive and, until recently, unexpected: The Arc of Venus. … Continue reading →

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Whole lotta watts added to the atmosphere

Posted on March 22, 2012 by

I loved the way James Russell described CO2 molecules as “natural thermostats” Solar Storm Dumps Gigawatts into Earth’s Upper Atmosphere A recent flurry of eruptions on the sun did more than spark pretty auroras around the poles.  NASA-funded researchers say … Continue reading →

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Biggest solar storm since 2005

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

It is being called by WaPo “The Biggest solar storm since 2005“. The sun erupted late on January 22nd, 2012 with an M8.7 class flare. The Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the flare as seen below. From NASA: The coronal mass … Continue reading →

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Comet Lovejoy survives a brush with Sol

Posted on December 16, 2011 by

From Physorg.com Comet Lovejoy was only discovered a couple of weeks ago. It was supposed to melt as it came so close to the sun that the temperatures would hit several million degrees. But astronomers watching live with NASA telescopes … Continue reading →

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Solar activity on the upswing, big sunspot rotating into view is producing x-class solar flares. Large CME expected soon, may hit earth.

Posted on September 25, 2011 by

From Spaceweather.com: New sunspot 1302 has already produced two X-flares(X1.4 on Sept. 22nd and X1.9 on Sept. 24th), can another be far behind? NOAA forecasters put the 24-hour probability at 20%. The sheer size of the active region suggests the … Continue reading →

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SDO sees ‘Dark Fireworks’ on the Sun

Posted on July 12, 2011 by

From Science@ NASA:  On June 7, 2011, Earth-orbiting satellites detected a flash of X-rays coming from the western edge of the solar disk. Registering only “M” (for medium) on the Richter scale of solar flares, the blast at first appeared … Continue reading →

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Scientists Prove Existence of ‘Magnetic Ropes’ that Cause Solar Storms

Posted on June 15, 2011 by

Seems like GMU doesn’t stop, waiting for Dave Clarke and John Mashey to launch the next copygate volley. Here’s some interesting research. FAIRFAX, Va., June 15, 2011—George Mason University scientists discovered recently that a phenomenon called a giant magnetic rope … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Solar | Tagged , , , | 86 Comments

Sol is finally waking up

Posted on March 10, 2011 by

Let’s hope he does get out of the wrong side of the bed. The current sunspot count and 10.7 cm radio flux have increased in the latest NOAA SWPC graphs, shown below. but curiously, the Ap magnetic index remains low. … Continue reading →

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SDO getting an eclipse

Posted on March 4, 2011 by

I noticed this in our sidebar SDO solar image and grabbed it. It has happened before, last year.

Posted in Solar | Tagged , , | 27 Comments

Watch sunspot group 1158 form from nothing

Posted on February 16, 2011 by

UPDATE: Leif Svalgaard provides us a magnetic movie (SDO HMI) which I’ve also converted and added below. It’s a real treat too. This is truly an impressive animation from the folks at the Solar Dynamics Observatory. I’ve converted it to … Continue reading →

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M class solar flare today

Posted on February 13, 2011 by

Dr. Leif Svalgaard writes in a short email: M6.6 flare kicks F10.7 to 126 sfu Here’s the flare on the X-ray plot:Here’s the xray image: So while the sun has been generally quiet recently, it still has its fits of … Continue reading →

Posted in Solar | Tagged , | 48 Comments